HELP - diagnosis or autopsy on T20

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cheesecake · #1 Post by **cheesecake** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 4:26 am

Hi all,

My T20 is very sick, possibly with a terminal illness. The display is almost completely unreadable - blurry, jittery and filled with vertical lines (the leftmost 2 cm is perfect though). This behavior has been intermittent for a week or two (appearing after running for many hours and occasionally disappearing after an hour or two of cooldown), but now seems permanent.

I had a similar problem almost exactly a year ago and got that repaired under warranty, but the warranty has now expired. Also, IBM informed me that they only have a 3 month guarantee on repairs, so after 12 months I'm out of luck. Here's where you come in:

1. Diagnosis - graphic card, entire motherboard? Possibility of an easy fix? What kind of money am I looking at to get it repaired? (I want to have an idea beforehand because the local techs here in Paris will take every chance to screw you.)

2. Given the above circumstances, is there any hope of nagging IBM into repairing this for free?

#2 Post by **K. Eng** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 7:04 am

I think the first think you should do is open up your T20 and figure out if the video connector has come loose.

Here's the link to Hardware Maintenance Manuals:
http://www-1.ibm.com/support/manager.ws ... MIGR-39298

This should tell you how to take apart your ThinkPad.

cheesecake · #3 Post by **cheesecake** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 7:17 am

Thanks for the tip, but I've checked and it hasn't come loose. I should also mention that everything is fine on an external display. Any other ideas?

#4 Post by **K. Eng** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 7:26 am

I have heard people mention a part called an "inverter card." I'm not sure what it's for but if it fails the display can go haywire.

sktn77a · #5 Post by **sktn77a** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:36 am

I would definitely bug IBM about standing behind their product. Mumble terms like "quality standard", "corporate reputation", "business-critical purchases", etc, etc. And if the first representative doesn't help, ask to speak to the next level of tech support/customer service.

Sounds like it is the inverter card or LCD. Repair is likely not cost-effective for you and I, but wouldn't cost IBM a whole lot on their dime!

HELP - diagnosis or autopsy on T20

HELP - diagnosis or autopsy on T20

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